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The Baptism Of Fire And Spirit

“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” - from Matthew 3:11

The baptism of fire and spirit is not a judgement or punishment, but instead refines us into our best selves.

The baptism of fire and spirit warms our hearts and sustains our lives during our cold winters of hopelessness and despair.

The baptism of fire and spirit burns away divisions of race, nationality, ethnicity, social class, economic status and gender identities allowing us to hear and understand each other clearly.

The baptism of fire and spirit breaks into our mundane and ordinary lives and gives us clarity of purpose and direction just as Moses received from the burning bush.

The baptism of water represents our turning and reaching out to God. The baptism of fire and spirit represents God reaching back out to us.

Come Holy Spirit. Bring your baptism of fire and spirit into our lives. Amen.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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It’s Not About Our Religion (Advent 11)

“…Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor.” - from Matthew 3:9

One of the great mistakes or fallacies we can fall into is to presume that our religions make us superior to others and/or pleasing to God.

The quality of the tree is not determined by the name of the orchard it’s planted in. The quality of the tree is determined by the fruit the it produces.

A true rooted and grounded in love is a a healthy tree capable of producing good fruit. Branches connected to the vine of God’s love will bear good fruit.

A tree that is not rooted and grounded will not produce good fruit. Branches disconnected from the vine will eventually wither away.

It’s not about the religion we claim. It’s about the fruit we yield. Good fruit is only produced in and through love.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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Remember Who You Are (Advent 10)

“Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance.” - Matthew 3:8

Some of us grew up with the exhortation to “remember who you are” or “remember where you came from”. Some of our families demanded that we bring honor to the family by being of high character and walking in the world with dignity and respect.

As I read this verse, I hear the gospel writer challenging the audience to remember who they are, remember who they have been called to be, remember who they claimed to be. With this in mind they and we are encouraged to bear fruit worthy of our repentance.

What are those fruits? The Apostle Paul eloquently describes nine. Our lives should be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

In times when we are tempted to give into our anger and fear, bitterness and hate, greed and lust - we are to remember that these are not worthy of us. We are called to remember who we are.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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Acknowledge, Learn, And Grow (Advent 9)

“And they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.” - Matthew 3:6

Confessing one’s faults, mistakes, and shortcomings isn’t about blame and shame. It’s not about making oneself feel guilty. It’s certainly not about pointing out flaws in anyone other than ourselves.

Baptism represents a person’s desire, commitment, and determination to make a new start, putting the old ways behind. Confession is a tool for understanding and acknowledging our mistakes, learning from them, and growing into better versions of ourselves.

I’ve been happily married going on 30 years now. But before that, I was previously married where we only lasted about nine months before we permanently separated. At the time, in my mind all of her faults were on full display.

Then it occurred to me that even if I felt like she was 80-90 percent responsible for our problems, I still had 10-20 percent of the blame. And if I didn’t fix my part of the problem, I would carry that same dysfunction into a new relationship.

I needed to be a better communicator, speaking the truth in love and gentleness. I needed to be a better listener, not so defensive and quick to feel attacked. I needed to prioritize the health of the relationship over my timeline for achieving our goals which were mostly mine in the first place.

Confessing all this to myself and God was an essential step in my journey to growth.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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How Do We Prepare The Way? (Advent 8)

“This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'" - Matthew 3:3 quoting Isaiah

After we repent, after we change or focus and direction, we have a role to play. We have been called to prepare the way of The Lord. We make it easier for folks to find and follow their pathways. How do we do this?

First, we root and ground ourselves in love. We allow our minds to be perpetually renewed as we practice a new way of thinking about the world. We allow our lives to become living sacrifices.

We do this by offering hope to others. A person without hope is a danger to themselves and everyone else. A person who doesn’t believe that things can get better, will accept the unacceptable and even participate in destroying themselves and the people around them.

The way things are for us as individuals and as communities is not the way they have to be. God has shown us a different way to live. Our job is to embrace it and help others to do the same.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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Turn Around And Look For It (Advent 7)

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." - Matthew 3:2

The word repent means to turn around and change direction. As we change our direction, we change our focus.

Instead of being focused on our frustrations and failures, instead of being focused the pitfalls and problems, we become focused on the possibilities and opportunities.

We are not far away from the kingdom of heaven. We are not far away from being able to live together with each other as God intended.

The world’s vast resources will be used for the benefit of all humanity. The poor will receive justice, and the needy will be delivered from poverty. Righteousness will flourish and peace will abound until the moon no longer shines. (based on Psalm 72)

This world isn’t very far away. We have to be willing to turn around and look for it.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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Hope Is Not A Passive Activity

“O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!” - Isaiah 2:5

The hope that we have been called to live in is not a passive one. We are called to carry God’s love into the world. We are called to be ambassadors of hope and ministers of reconciliation.

We are called to bring good news to the poor, to set free the oppressed, to bind up the broken hearted, to be relentless in our pursuit of peace and wellbeing, of goodness and mercy, not only for ourselves, but also for all of our neighbors.

We have been called to walk in the light of God’s love. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always perseveres. Love always hopes.

This kind of hope is not a passive activity.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

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Based on Isaiah 2:1-5

1. Trust in the power of the vision of God’s shalom (of God’s love and care) to draw humanity to it. No need to coerce through violence, economic coercion or social coercion. Lifting the vision will draw humanity to it.

2. Trust in the vision enough to put in the work to live in it. We have to learn a new way to live in the world, to think and speak, to act and react, to hope and desire. It’s requires that we make the effort. Trust God enough to put in the work.

3. Trust that this vision will ultimately transform the world. We do not accept the world as it is. We trust that the world will one day be as God intended it.

Therefore, we make the commitment to walk in the light.

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